The Second Consultative Meeting on Strengthening Partnerships with National Rapporteurs on Trafficking in Persons and Equivalent Mechanisms Wednesday 21, May 2014

The Second Consultative Meeting A necessary step to be taken to move forward and build upon what has already been established A great opportunity to promote good practices and exchange information on current trends, and lessons learnt.

The UN General Assembly in its Resolution on trafficking in Persons, including Resolution 63/156, 61/144 and A/RES/59/166 recommend: States consider setting up or strengthening a national coordinating mechanism.

Steps Taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain The National Committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons was established under the resolution No. (1) for the year 2008 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs. The Committee to assess the status of foreign victims of trafficking in persons, established by the ministerial order No (30) for the year 2008 Appointed a national rapporteur Created a team dedicated to: Organizing inter-agency work. The exchange of information and to report on figures, trends in combating trafficking in persons Data collection

Challenges Since collecting data has become a highly valued asset for our government, the management of these data collections remains a critical technical challenge. Challenges of managing the updated numbers of cases Prosecution Convictions Victims Trainings

Solutions The government of Bahrain has taken an extra step to further advance the work flow and is currently working on establishing a full database system which is designed to meet the needs of those involved in combating trafficking in persons, such as: Committee members Law enforcement personal and public Prosecutors Shelter staff

Database System: Database Governmental Entities Stakeholders NGO’s

Ministry of Interior Public Prosecution Office Ministry of Justice Ministry of Labor Ministry of Foreign Affairs Information Affairs Authority Ministry of Development Ministry of Human Rights Association of Religious Tolerance Labor Market Regulatory Authority Bahrain Women’s Union Expatriate Workers Protection Society

The UN Global Plan of Action to Combat Trafficking in Persons (GA resolution 64/293, 2010) encourages: Effective cooperation and coordination of efforts at the national, bilateral, sub-regional, regional and international levels. Taking advantage of the networks provided by relevant organizations sharing of best practices in capacity-building.

Steps Taken by the Kingdom of Bahrain The Government of Bahrain has organized many national trainings, workshops and seminar, such as: Jointly with the International Organization for Migration (IOM) a training in Controlling Trafficking in Persons Crimes and Criminal Investigations, in cooperation with Bahrain’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The workshop aimed to: Bring together a diverse group of participants from the government, civil society organizations and international organizations. To propose ways forward to raise awareness of regional and international cooperation to combat human trafficking.

The sessions were led by three experts in the field: Sarah Craggs, IOM’s Trafficking Technical Specialist for the Middle East and North Africa Region. Dr. Mohamed Mattar, Executive Director of The Protection Project at Johns Hopkins University's School of Advanced International Studies Judge Adel Maged, Vice President at the Court of Cassation and Honorary Professor of Law, Durham University, UK.

Some of Our Proudest Qualities: The government of Bahrain has a very strong interagency system. The Ministry of Foreign Affairs’ Undersecretary chairs an inter-ministerial committee to Combat Trafficking in Persons which was established under resolution No. (1) for the year 2008 by the Minister of Foreign Affairs, that: Coordinates policies designed to combat trafficking The Committee has developed programs on preventing and combating trafficking in persons Protecting victims of trafficking from re-victimization This committee convenes twice a month on average Includes government ministries and NGOs such as The Ministry of Interior, The Public Prosecution Office, Ministry of Justice, Ministry of Labor, Ministry of Foreign Affairs, The Information Affairs Authority, Ministry of development, Ministry of Human Rights, the Association of Religious Tolerance, The Labor Market Regulatory Authority, the Bahrain Women’s Union, Expatriates workers protection society among others

Raising Awareness Despite government efforts and existing legislations and regulations, people are still not fully aware of the dimensions of this crime. How we addressed it: One of the main focuses over the past two years is the media campaigns. The National Committee had established an executive office, headed by the Information Affairs Authority, which consists of (the Information Affairs Authority - Ministry of Interior - Ministry of Foreign Affairs - Labour Market Regulatory Authority -Migrant Workers Protection Society). The most prominent of the tasks assigned to them are to focus on raising awareness through the media and to focus on increasing cooperation with the private sector. The National Committee to Combat Trafficking in persons has been working very closely with various religious leaders and preachers from several beliefs to spread awareness among vulnerable groups and advise them not to be afraid and seek government assistance. Result: Lately the public persecution office has been receiving much bigger number of labor trafficking in persons cases rather than just sexual exploitation.

Thank You